hope

did anyone else listen to the hearings of the Iraq Study Group yesterday? it was the top story everywhere, but unfortunately i found much of the coverage, yesterday at least, focusing on the fact that the group said the current strategy in iraq is not working. that's just a fraction of what they said. i was completely heartened and amazed at the realistic, bipartisan, mature approach of the recommendations and the general spirit of the panel. the group was obviously already in the works before the midterm elections, but would such an outcome have been possible before then? your guess is as good as mine.

the most incredible recommendation, the one that gave me the most hope, was the recommendation that the U.S. engage with Iran and Syria diplomatically to discuss the issue of Iraq. i'm no fan of ahmedinejad, but because i'm scared of him i think we need to talk to him. the u.s. government's flippant dismissals of ahmedinejad every time he has tried to make contact are some of the worst, most hubristic diplomatic moves i've ever witnessed. the best chance for disarming iran's nuclear weapons, for peace in the region, for israel's survival, entails making friends with iran. if bush can't stand to do that on ahmedinejad's terms, iraq gives him a chance to unite with him against a common enemy (that is, iraqi civil war). this is an incredible opportunity for the tides to turn in the middle east, and i have a lot of hope.

i realize i may be overstating things a bit here, and that ahmedinejad is a crazy, power hungry, jew-hating semi-dictator. there are many incredibly complex problems in the middle east, and i don't expect this to solve everything. but what we've done so far has clearly not worked, has clearly been so wrong, and right now we are presented with a real, viable window to try something else. i hope bush can suck up the machismo and become as mature as the recommendations of the panel.

however, even if bush does not accept the iraq panel's recommendations, there is hope in tom lantos, CA congressman, soon-to-be head of the house international relations committee (he should be confirmed later today), AND holocaust survivor, who urges the u.s. to sit down with syria and iran. lantos was the first member of the u.s. government to reestablish diplomatic ties with albania and libya, and he clearly understands the key component talking plays in peace. whether or not bush accepts the panel's recommendations, lantos, in his new power as chair of the international committee, will probably be able to move forward with the international diplomacy our government so lacks.